The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c

When used for these purposes it should always be added before the pudding is thickened, otherwise the pudding will be of unequal colour, it being impossible to mix it thoroughly after it is once made. When rhubarb is used for making rhubarb pie or stewed rhubarb it will often be found that the rhubarb is pale in colour. Fresh spring rhubarb is always a bright red, and when so it has a more inviting appearance. When rhubarb does not possess this colour a few drops of cochineal will have the effect of causing it to look like early spring rhubarb. A few drops of cochineal can also be used with bottled rhubarb, should the colour not be altogether that which could be desired. Cochineal is used for colouring jelly. Two apparently different moulds of jelly can be obtained from one bottle by colouring half the bottle a bright pink with cochineal, and adding some additional flavouring, such as vanilla or essence of almonds. The sugar used for ornamenting cakes, when pink, is made by adding a little cochineal to some white of egg and powdered sugar, and mixing it to a thick paste. This can then be dropped on the cake through a small piece of paper done up in the shape of a funnel. The pink icing can then be allowed to fall as desired. In ornamenting hams with clarified butter sometimes part of the butter is coloured pink with cochineal, and it can be used as ordinary piping. Cochineal is also used by cooks to tint the edges of flowers cut from turnips. When the white flower is cut from turnip and the edges tinted with cochineal it causes it to resemble very closely a fresh blown camellia. Sometimes when beetroot cannot be obtained slices of turnip or potato raw are coloured red with cochineal and substituted. As a rule, however, nothing should be used for ornamental purposes which is not intended to be eaten. Some coolcs use cochineal to improve the colour of lobster sauce and shrimp sauce. This, however, is wrong. The shade of colour produced by cochineal is entirely different to that of lobster butter. As a rule it will be found that cochineal for colouring purposes is only adapted for sweets. Vegetable colouring is sold which will assist the colour of lobster and shrimp sauce, but cochineal is not adapted for that purpose. COCKS’-COMBS, — Cocks’-combs are prepared in bottles. When cut from the head of the cock they are, of course, a deep red colour, but they are afterwards blanched, and when bottled are of a pure white colour. They are universally esteemed as a great delicacy, and are used for making financier ragout. They are also extremely valuable to good cooks for garnishing purposes. We will take the simple case of a boiled capon. When it has been covered with a rich thick cream bechamel sauce, the base of the dish can be ornamented as follows : — Take some cocks’-combs and mask them with béchamel sauce. Have ready some slices of red tongue cut by means of a stamp or by hand exactly in the same shape as the cocks’-combs. Place the cocks’-combs and red tongue alternately round the dish, and place some black spots of truffle on each projection. A few red specks of tongue, green parsley, and black truffle can be lightly shaken over the breast of the capon. A cut flower can also be stuck in the end of the breast. In ornamenting dishes it will always be found that .